Resistive-sensor based inventory management device

ABSTRACT

An inventory management device to measure usage of sheets in a roll has been described. The inventory management device includes a resistive sensor in physical communication with a sheet in the roll that measures a resistance value between the resistive sensor and the sheet. The inventory management device includes a vibration sensor in electronic communication with the resistive sensor to generate a vibration signal that corresponds to a vibration of the roll. The inventory management device includes a storage unit in electronic communication with the resistive sensor to store the resistance value. The inventory management also includes a controller in electronic communication with the resistive sensor and storage unit to measure a change in the resistance value.

BACKGROUND

In general, conventional inventory management systems and methods arelabor intensive and time consuming. For example, a user may have tovisually inspect the container to determine the level or quantity of thesubstance in the container and/or whether the container needsreplenishment. Replenishments are ordered manually. In addition,conventional inventory management systems may use special containersthat are expensive to manufacture and too large for certainapplications. Accordingly, more efficient and/or cost-effectiveinventory management systems and methods of making and using the sameare desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The various embodiments described herein may be better understood byconsidering the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 includes a block diagram of an inventory management system.

FIG. 2 includes a perspective view showing an inventory managementdevice.

FIG. 3 includes a front view of an inventory management system having areplenishment threshold.

FIG. 4 includes a block diagram of an inventory management system.

FIG. 5 includes a flow chart illustrating a method of inventorymanagement.

FIGS. 6A-6E include flow charts illustrating methods of inventorymanagement.

FIG. 7 includes a flow chart illustrating a method of inventorymanagement.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a roll of sheet with aresistive sensor.

DESCRIPTION

As generally used herein, the articles “one”, “a”, “an” and “the” referto “at least one” or “one or more, unless otherwise indicated.

As generally used herein, the terms “including” and “having” mean“comprising”.

In the following description, certain details are set forth in order toprovide a better understanding of various aspects of inventorymanagement systems and methods of making and using the same. However,one skilled in the art will understand that these aspects may bepracticed without these details and/or in the absence of any details notdescribed herein. In other instances, well-known structures, methods,and/or techniques associated with methods of practicing the variousaspects may not be shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring descriptions of other details of the various aspects.

According to various aspects, more efficient and/or cost-effectiveinventory managements and methods of making and using the same aredescribed.

The inventory management devices and systems may be used by end users,retailers, distributors, and manufacturers of consumer goods to collect,track, and/or process product usage data.

The inventory management devices, sometimes referred to as a label, maybe coupled to a collection of sheets, for example, a paper stack or apaper roll. After the collection of sheets leaves the manufacturerand/or distributor and travels through the supply chain to the end user,which could be a business entity or a consumer, the label may collectand transmit product data to be displayed via a computer interface, suchas a mobile application, web application, and computer. The end user mayconnect the label to the internet via WIFI, BLUETOOTH, (Bluetooth LowEnergy) BLE, LoRa, NB-IoT, or any network interface or network hub. Theinterface may be used by the manufacturer and/or distributor to directlycommunicate with the retailer and/or end user. The manufacturer and/ordistributor may facilitate communications with the retailer and/or enduser, such as targeted promotions, recipes, and need based subscriptionservices. The retailer and/or end user may use the interface to reorderthe product, provide feedback to the manufacturer and/or distributor,and/or communicate with the manufacturer and/or distributor.

Once the end user connects the label to the network, the inventorymanagement devices and systems may be completely automated to track thenumber of sheets in the collection of sheets, usage data, includingwhen, where, and how often the sheets are used, consumer demographics,and when a reorder of the sheets is desirable. For example, the systemmay transmit a notification to the end user, retailer, distributor, andmanufacturer of the product, when the number of sheets connected to thenetworks achieves a threshold amount.

The label may connect to a network interface without human intervention.For example, the label may connect to a network interface controlled bythe manufacturer and/or distributor without intervention by the enduser. The label may connect to the network via LoRa or NB-IoT, forexample. The label may autonomously track the number of remaining sheetsin the collection of sheets, usage data, including when, where, and howoften the product is used, consumer demographics, and when a reorder ofthe sheets is desirable. The label may autonomously transmit anotification to the end user, retailer, distributor, and manufacturer ofthe sheets when the number of sheets in the collection connected to thenetworks achieves a threshold amount. The label may autonomously trackand/or transmit without a “command” signal being received by the labelor initiated by the end user. Autonomous tracking and/or transmissionmay improve the efficiency and/or reduce the possibility of human errorby minimizing the dependency on the end user to have a network hub andassociated hardware necessary to communicate and interact with thelabel. The label comprise a software development kit (SDK) to captureand report real-time data via, and may allow the compiling of datareports for each manufacturer and/or distributor in discrete timeperiods, on demand, randomly or continually for more than one label toprovide the manufacturer and/or distributor data at an aggregate level.The label may be configured to validate incoming requests to assure theyare coming from the manufacturer and/or distributor or other verifiedparty. The SDK may be configured to allow other home automation devicesto connect to as well.

The inventory management devices and systems may be used for new producttesting. Conventional systems and methods used by manufacturers anddistributors to test new product concepts may be problematic. Theresults from the self-selected consumers may be biased. Theself-selected consumers may have to manually input the activity trackinginformation, which may result in human error and, ultimately, suboptimaldecisions in positioning and marketing of the product. The inventorymanagement devices and systems described herein may facilitate automatedtesting and/or collection of product usage data with minimal or no humanintervention, and/or randomized sampling. The inventory managementdevices and systems described herein may facilitate testing multipleproduct concepts to determine the most profitable and/or desirableproduct to go into production. The testing results obtained using theinventory management devices and systems described herein may be lessbiased and/or unbiased relative to conventional methods to provide afaster time to market and better success rate in new product launches.

The inventory management devices and systems may be used to optimizestocking of a product or group of products. Retail sales data may bedifferent from actual consumption data. This may lead to lost sales whenthe retail sales data is less than the actual consumption data or unusedinventory when the retail sales data is greater than the actualconsumption data. The product usage data collected, processed, andtransmitted by the inventory management devices and system may be usedto identify consumption patterns for a product for a specific locationor geographic area, such as within a city, and thereby the optimumstocking level of the product at each retail store in the geographicarea based on usage.

The inventory management devices and systems may be used to facilitate aneed based subscription model in which the customer receives thegoods/services as needed. Conventional subscription business modelsgenerally require a customer to purchase the goods/services at apredetermined frequency, such as every month or week, and thereby, thecustomer may over purchase or under purchase the goods/services.Conventional subscription business models are generally not based on theneed of the customer. Conventional subscription business models mayexperience a high attrition rate, sometimes referred to as a churn rate.A need based subscription business model may be based on the actualgoods/services usage over a certain period of time. As described above,the goods/services usage data collected, processed, and transmitted bythe inventory management devices and system may be used to identifyconsumption patterns to provide for a need based subscription model thatallows users to subscribe for the optimum level of the goods/servicesbased on usage.

The inventory management devices and systems described herein maycollect, process, and/or transmit product usage data that may be used bymanufacturers and distributors of consumer goods to capture thefluctuations in consumer demand, optimize production, measure theeffectiveness of targeted promotions, and for competitive benchmarkingand onboarding a new location/customer.

An inventory management system may be characterized by a band-typeinventory device having one or more sensors, where the device isflexible and attachable to a collection of sheets, for example, a paperroll or a paper stack. The inventory management system may be furthercharacterized by a customizable reordering point to automate inventorymanagement of the material and reduce/eliminate manual intervention. Theinventory management device may be agnostic to the size and shape of thecollection of sheets. The inventory management device may comprise apower saving circuit to allow continued usage of the device without theneed to recharge the battery.

The inventory management system may be characterized by one or more ofthe following, as described in more detail below: (1) a uniqueidentifier, such as a UPC code or a media access control address (MACaddress), for each device to collect when, where, how often and wheneach collection of sheets achieves the threshold amount, (2) collectconsumption data, including the rate of consumption and when the numberof sheets in the collection achieves a Reorder Point (ROP); (3) comprisea vibration sensor, e.g., an accelerometer or gyroscope, to detect avibration when a sheet is removed from the collection of sheets; (4)measure the number of independent vibrations to count the number sheetsremoved from the collection of sheets; (5) determine the number ofsheets remaining in the collection of sheets; (6) using BLUETOOTH or BLE(Bluetooth Low Energy) to collect sheet usage information whilescanning, i.e., instead of transmitting the identifier for each device,it sends out a unique string with status encapsulated that serves as thedevice identifier; (7) detect when the collection of sheet is opened;(8) automatically connects to the network; (9) after detecting avibration, the device may measure the resistance of the collection ofsheets or lack thereof and transmit the resistance value to a databaseand/or store the resistance value in a store unit to be transmitted at alater time, such as when the number of sheets in the collection achievesa threshold level; (10) having a minimally intrusive design andapplicability to conventional manufacturing processes with minimalredesign of such manufacturing processes; (11) an active battery havingnarrow thickness such that it may be embedded in the label coupled tothe container; (12) a battery that may be active through transit andconfigured to maintain power using intelligent power saving modes; (13)automatic data collection, processing, and communication, e.g., when theend user activates the device, it may automatically connect to a hub andautomatically begin collecting product usage data when a vibration isdetected, and/or the hub may advertise at any period of time desired bythe user, e.g., 1 hour, and/or when all or substantially all vibrationsare detected, to wake up the device and begin collecting and/ortransmitting the product usage data; and (15) collecting the productusage data during the advertising itself, e.g., the handshake signal maytransmit the packet with the data of unique identification, status, andnumber of vibrations.

Referring to FIG. 1, an inventory management device 102 may attach to acollection of sheets 104. The collection of sheets 104 may be a roll ofsheets, a stack of sheets, etc. Examples of the sheets may include, butare not limited to, a paper, plastic, cloth, or any other solidmaterial. The collection of sheets 104 may comprise an adhesive 106 onone of the sheet in the collection at a customizable reordering pointdesired by the user. The reorder point (“ROP”) is the amount of materialthat triggers an action to replenish that particular material. Theinventory management device may comprise at least one sensor to measurethe number of sheets in the collection of sheets. The inventorymanagement device 102 may comprise a transmitter to transmit themeasured value to a server 108 in a remote location. The sensor maytransmit the measured value to the server 108 by WIFI. The transmittermay comprise a BLUETOOTH or a BLE (Bluetooth low energy) transmitter tocommunicate to a mobile device 110. The mobile device 110 may act as amodem to communicate with the server 108. The transmitter may comprise alow-power wireless local area network to communicate through a hub 112with the server 108. The low power communication protocol may compriseZIGBEE/ZWAVE. The server 108 may comprise software to provide two waycommunication with a dashboard 114. The dashboard 114 may comprise a webor mobile application. Additionally, the software may comprise asoftware development kit 116 including an application program interface(API) to develop any third party software tools. For example, the devicemay integrate into data analytics/post-purchase consumer electronicsplatforms seamlessly through the API to build an ecosystem.

Referring to FIG. 2, the inventory management device may comprise alabel that may be in contact with the collection of sheets. Theinventory management device may comprise a flexible, reusable,non-intrusive device that may be surmounted to the external surface ofthe collection of sheets 104. The inventory management device 202 maycomprise a label 204 having a writing surface for the user to identifythe contents of container. The inventory management device may beagnostic to the size and shape of the collection of sheets 104.

Referring to FIG. 4, the inventory management device may comprise apower saving circuit to minimize power consumed such that the user maynot need to recharge the battery during use. The power saving circuit,and thereby power consumption, may be related to the vibration of thecollection of sheets.

The inventory management device may be characterized by the followingdimensions: up to 200 mm high, such as 1-200 mm, and 50-127 mm, up to200 mm wide, such as 1-200 mm, and 50-127 mm, and up to 50 mm thick,such as 0.1-50 mm. The inventory management device may comprise othershapes and dimensions as desired.

The inventory management device may comprise at least one sensor, suchas a vibration sensor 410 and an environmental sensor (not shown).Referring to FIG. 4, the power saving unit may comprise a level sensor206. The level sensor 206 may be positioned at the bottom of theinventory management device to allow the user to set the ROP by aligningthe sensor to the desired ROP. The environmental sensor may bepositioned anywhere on the label that is determined by the hardwaredesign, for example, adjacent or proximate the level sensor at thebottom of the label of the inventory management device.

The environmental sensor may comprise one or more of an image sensor,moisture sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, air qualitysensor, light sensor, motion sensor, audio sensor, magnetic sensor. Theenvironmental sensor may be connected to the battery and transmit asignal to the storage unit. In addition to the consumption data providedby the label to the manufacturers and/or distributors, environmentaldata may be used to notify the manufacturers and/or distributors thestatus of the material. The label may be configured to notify themanufacturers and/or distributors and/or the end user when the sheetshave been exposed to environmental conditions that impairs its principleof operation or its intended purpose. For example, in case of a toiletroll, the label may notify the end user that the toilet roll is damp andnot fit for use.

The level sensor may comprise one or more of a piezoelectric sensor, amagnetic float level sensor, a mechanical float level sensor, apneumatic level sensor, a conductive level sensor, an ultrasonic levelsensor, a resistance level sensor, a capacitance level sensor, aninductive proximity sensor, an optical sensor, a microwave sensor,magneto-strictive level sensor, resistive chain level sensor,magnetoresistance float level sensor, hydrostatic pressure level sensor,an air bubbler system, and a nuclear level gauge, such as a gamma raygauge, or any other sensor configured to detect a change in the numberof sheets in the collection of sheets.

When the user attaches the inventory management device 102 to thecontainer 104, turns on the power button 208 and maps the number ofsheets in the collection to a dashboard 114, which may run on a mobiledevice or a computer, and configures the inventory management device toa wireless communication protocol, the dashboard 114 may notify the userwhen the quantity or number of sheets reaches or falls below the ROP.After receiving the notification, as shown in FIG. 1, the user maymanually reorder a replenishment to achieve a desired number of sheets,or the inventory management system may be programmed to automaticallyreorder the replenishment number of sheets. The inventory managementdevice may integrate with conventional inventory management software, asillustrated in FIG. 6A.

The inventory management device 102 may comprise a switch/setting button210 to toggle LED 212 to allow the user to receive a replenishmentnotification when the last refill when locally stored stock of thesheet, such as in a pantry or cabinet in a household application orstore room in other small businesses, is at or below the ROP, or isabsent. Instead of reordering the material, the user may receive anotification to replenish the collection with sheets from a local largersheet container. The LED 212 may be changed through the dashboard 114.

In use, the inventory management system may automatically monitor thequantity of sheets in the collection, collect and record inventoryinformation or data, and reorder sheets with minimal or no manualintervention. The inventory management system may provide the user withreal time inventory information and access to such inventoryinformation. The inventory information may comprise a timestampincluding the date, hour, minute, and second of each use of the sheet oreach vibration, and when the number of sheets achieves the ROP,demographics of the user, frequency of use of the sheets, location ofthe collection, number of sheet collections connected to the networkhaving an amount greater than the threshold amount and/or an amountequal to or less than the threshold amount, weather, geography,environmental conditions, and events, for example. The inventoryinformation may be stored in a storage unit and transmitted to adatabase when the ROP is achieved.

The inventory management system may be modular and configured tointegrate with any other third party inventory management hardware andsoftware (e.g., software development kit, “SDK”) 116.

FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of an inventory management system havinga replenishment threshold. The user may use the inventory managementdevice to set the ROP and collect and monitor the quantity of sheets inthe collection.

The inventory management device may be positioned on an outer surface ofthe sheet collection. In one embodiment, the inventory management devicemay be wrapped around the sheet collection using an elastic material ora rubber band. The bottom of the inventory management device may set theROP 302 or the amount when the user desires to be notified about thenumber of sheets in the container. The level sensor 206 may bepositioned at the bottom of the inventory management device. Therefore,the user may customize the ROP 302 according to the user's minimuminventory needs or safety stock by adjusting the position of theinventory management device. The inventory management device may besurmounted on any container notwithstanding the shape or size of thecontainer.

FIG. 4 includes a block diagram of an inventory management system. Theinventory management device 102 may comprise a flexible printed circuitboard (PCB) or printed electronics 402. The power module may comprise abattery 404 to power the main circuit 408 and a power saving circuit406. The power saving circuit 406 may comprise a vibration sensor 410,such as a tilt sensor, directly connected to the battery 404 such as bya switch 412. The switch 412 may connect the battery 404 to thevibration sensor 410 and main circuit when closed. The vibration sensor410 may be constantly powered on when the switch 412 is closed. Thevibration sensor 410 may control the main circuit 408 by transmitting awakeup signal interrupt to the controller. The controller may beprogrammed to control the sensitivity of vibration sensor 410 byregulating the voltage. When the vibration sensor 410 detects avibration, the controller may be programmed turn on the main circuit408.

When the user powers the device 102 on, the switch 412 closes to connectthe battery 404 to the power saving circuit and the main circuit. Whenthe vibration sensor 410 detects a vibration, the controller may beprogrammed to transmit a signal, e.g., sleep wakeup signal, to the maincircuit 408 to turn on the main circuit 408. The controller may beprogrammed to control the sensitivity of vibration sensor 410 byregulating the voltage. The sensitivity of the vibration sensor 410 maybe relative to the force applied to remove a sheet from a collection ofsheets, for example, a sheet roll.

The vibration sensor may comprise one of an accelerometer, a tiltsensor, a proximity sensor, a position sensor, and a transducer. Thevibration sensor may be coupled to an exterior surface of the lid of thecontainer to detect when a sheet is pulled from the collection ofsheets. In one embodiment, the total number of vibrations may bedetected until the sheets in the collection is over.

The battery may comprise one of a flexible battery and a printedbattery. The battery may or may not be rechargeable. The battery maycomprise one of a kinetic energy powered battery, a fuel cell, a thermalpower source, a lithium-ion battery, a solar panel connected to abattery, a zinc air battery, a button cell battery, a Tesla coil, aprinted battery, a flexible battery, a battery made of organic matter,and an alkaline battery. The battery may be characterized by a lowcapacity.

The inventory management device may be manufactured using a printedcircuit board method including a rigid substrate or flexible substrate,a printed electronic method, a thin-film deposition method, machining,sintering, or any other known or desired method known to a person ofordinary skill in the art. The inventory management device may comprisean array of conductive materials for electrodes bonded to a thindielectric flexible film on an insulating substrate. Exemplaryconductive materials for electrodes include, but are not limited to,copper, silver, gold, aluminium and their alloys, their coatings andinks, or any other desired material or combination of materials known toa person of ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary insulating substratematerials include, but are not limited to, various resin laminates,glasses, ceramics and plastic sheets and tubes, or any other desiredmaterial or combination of materials known to a person of ordinary skillin the art. The inventory management system may also include a resistivesensor, for example, a flex sensor that changes its resistance valuebased on the bending of the sensor.

The controller may be programmed to turn on the main circuit 408. Forexample, the controller may be programmed to turn on a timer when thefirst vibration is detected. The timer may comprise a time periodsufficient for the material to stabilize or achieve equilibrium after avibration. The time period may be from at least 1 second up to 1 hour.If another vibration is detected before the timer expires, then thecontroller may be programmed to reset the timer to start again. Theexpiration of the timer may indicate that the user stopped using thecontainer. When the timer expires, the controller may be programmed toturn on the main circuit 408.

The main circuit 408 may comprise the main sensor 414, a minicomputer416 including a wireless module and modem. The main sensor 414 may beconnected to the minicomputer 416. The minicomputer 416 may beprogrammed to control the main sensor 414. Alternative, the main sensor414 may comprise the minicomputer 416. As described above, the maincircuit may be powered on intermittently as determined by the powersaving circuit 406. The main sensor 414 may comprise one or more of theenvironmental sensor, resistance sensor, vibration sensor, capacitivesensor, storage unit, controller, and transmitter.

The main sensor 414 and the minicomputer 416 may be connected in seriesand directly connected to the battery 404. The main sensor 414 maydetect the quantity of sheets in the collection of sheets. The mainsensor 414 may transmit a low voltage signal to the minicomputer 416when the quantity of sheets is at or below the ROP.

The main sensor 414 may comprise one of a resistive level sensor and anultrasonic sensor. The resistive level sensor may comprise a capacitiveproximity switch. The resistive level sensor may be characterized as anon-intrusive sensor attached to an outer surface of the collection ofsheets. The resistive level sensor may measure a change in resistance ofthe sheets in the collection. The resistive level sensor may comprise aflex sensor that wraps around the collection of sheets. When a sheet inthe collection is pulled then the bend of the resistive sensor, wrappedaround the collection, may increase/decrease. The change in resistancemay be outputted as a voltage signal to the minicomputer as an interruptsignal. The resistance level sensor may determine the presence orabsence of the sheet at that ROP. The main sensor 414 may comprise acopper strip.

The minicomputer 416 may receive and process the input value. Theminicomputer may be programmed to reduce the power consumption. Theminicomputer may store one or more input values. Referring to FIG. 1,the minicomputer may be programmed to send the input valve via the WIFImodule to the server 108 when the input value transmitted by thecapacitive level sensor is different from the stored input value on theminicomputer 416. The input value may be transmitted to the server usingthe communication channels as set by the user in the initial setup. Theinput values may be collected for a desired period of time, and storedin a database, such as server 108, and/or the storage unit. The databasemay be used to aggregate and correlate inventory information that may beuseful in other business applications or business decisions.

The main sensor 414 may use less power to operate compare toconventional inventory management devices because the battery is notalways on but turned on intermittently via circuit 2. The inventorymanagement system may communicate with the server only when the signaltransmitted by the resistive sensor value from is different from thestored valued thereby limiting the usage of and power consumed by theBLUETOOTH, BLE, ZIGBEE/ZWAVE, WIFI, LoRa, and/or NB-IoT module(s).

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6A-6E, the inventory management system may beused for household inventory management. However, a person havingordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the inventory managementsystem 102 may be used to manage the inventory of liquid vendingmachines, bakeries, bars, coffee shops, food courts, pharmacies andother applications that may benefit from inventory management ofcontainers of solids, liquids, gases, and gels. The inventory managementsystem may be used in by distilleries, craft distilleries, pharmacies,publishers in the printing industry, cosmetic and perfume industry, andmanufacturers of cleaning supplies.

The transmitter may comprise at least one of BLUETOOTH communication, aradio-frequency identification (RFID) communication, a near-fieldcommunication (NFC), or a personal area network (PAN) communication toconnect to a WIFI or Ethernet communications network ormachine-to-machine (M2M) wireless communications network; ZIGBEE/ZWAVEcommunication; LoRa communication; and NB-IoT communications.

FIG. 5 includes a flow chart illustrating the installation and setup ofa networked inventory management system. At 502, a user may hold thepower button of the inventory management device and access a mobileapplication. At 504, the inventory management device may transmit aunique identification to the mobile application, and the user may selecta desired communication protocol. The communication protocol maycomprise WIFI, ZIGBEE/ZWAVE, or BLUETOOTH. The user may select WIFI at506, for example, and enter a password through the mobile application.At 508, the user may select ZIGBEE/ZWAVE and confirm pairing with thehub. At 510, the user may select BLUETOOTH and a mobile device that isconnected to WIFI. The inventory management device is connected to thenetwork at 512. At 514, the user may save the network settings toconnect another inventory management device to the network. At 516, theuser may attach the inventory management device to the outer surface ofthe container.

FIG. 6A-6E include flow charts illustrating a method of inventorymanagement of a plurality of sheet collections having the inventorymanagement device described herein. In FIG. 6A, at 602, a user may viewthe status of each of the inventory management devices via the dashboardand/or mobile application. At 604, the user may edit inventoryinformation, such as the name or ID of the container associated with theinventory management device and the material stored therein. Theinventory information may be stored in the database. At 606, the usermay delete the inventory information when the inventory managementdevice is disconnected from the network to remove the respective ID fromthe map in the database.

At 608, each inventory management devices may displays its status as oneof “empty” or “available” based on the main sensor 610 output. At 612,the inventory management devices may be programmed to check ifadditional sheets are stored locally. Referring to FIG. 6B, at 614, theinventory management devices may be programmed to reorder the sheetswhen additional material is not available locally. Referring to FIG. 6C,at 618, the inventory management devices may be programmed to add sheetsto the refill list when additional material is available locally. At618, the inventory management devices may be programmed to check if theadditional sheet is stored locally. At 620, the inventory managementdevices may be programmed to list the container as the last refill whenthe material is not available locally. At 622, the inventory managementdevices may be programmed to list the sheet as “available” when thesheet is available locally.

FIG. 6B includes a flowchart illustrating a method of inventorymanagement of a plurality of sheet collections having the inventorymanagement device described herein that need reordering/purchasing. At624, the inventory management system may be programmed to identify eachof the sheet collections having a quantify of sheet equal to or lessthan the ROP and identified as “last sheet refill” by button 210 (seeFIG. 2). At 626, the user may view the list of sheets in need ofreordering/purchasing via the dashboard or mobile application. At 628,the user may manually add items to the list.

FIG. 6C includes a flowchart illustrating a method of inventorymanagement of a plurality of sheet collections having the inventorymanagement device described herein that need refilling from materialavailable locally. At 630, the inventory management system may beprogrammed to identify each of the collections having a level orquantity of sheets equal to or less than the ROP and identified as“available” by button 210 (see to FIG. 2), At 632, the user may view thelist of collections in need of refiling from locally stored sheets viathe dashboard or mobile application.

FIG. 6D illustrates a block diagram of the dashboard and/or mobileapplication. At 650, a user may identify sheets and sources for suchsheets. The inventory management system may be programmed to identifyand list sources for the materials at 652. At 654, a GPS service on theuser's mobile device may continuously track the user location. Forexample, when the user is proximate to a store having the material, theinventory management system may be programmed to notify the user topurchase the material from the store. At 656, once inside the store, theinventory management system may be programmed to identify the shortestroute to the sheet in the dashboard using the store's latest arrangementinformation. At 658, upon checkout from the store, the user may scan thereceipts or the purchased materials may be obtained directly throughsoftware integration with the store. The inventory management system maybe programmed to store this data. This data may be used for correlationand analytics to provide consumers with recommendations for saving fromgrocery spend analysis and other financial analysis.

Referring to FIG. 7, illustrates a method of configuring and using theinventory management system. At 702, the user may affix the inventorymanagement device having a unique identification, which may include aUPC code/MAC address, onto each sheet collection and powers on all thedevices. The user may access the user interface, e.g., the mobileapplication, to receive the threshold level from a reference databaseand calibrates each of the devices via the hub. The threshold value maycomprise a resistance value and/or a time of return pulse, or a changein the resistance value and/or time of return pulse. The time of returnpulse may be calculated using program ticks. For example, the controllerand/or the resistance level sensor may transmit a pulse to measure theresistance of the material. The time of return pulse when the sheetcollection achieves the threshold amount may be different from the timeof return pulse when the number of sheets is greater than the thresholdamount. At 704, the number of sheets at each location in the applicationmay be inputted into the system by the user and/or may be automaticallypopulated by the point of sale system. The user may input other mappinginformation, such as the product line for each unique identification,via the application that may be stored in the database. At 706, thedevice may be active, but in a sleep state, during transit to savepower. During this time, the device may detect a tilt, fall, and/orvibration, or upon the expiration of a desired period to time andattempt to connect to the network. If the device cannot connect to thenetwork, the device may return to the sleep state. At 708, when thedevice is delivered to the designated location, each storage unitautomatically connects to the network via a hub or a smartphone withoutany user intervention. Upon detecting the first vibration, the devicemay connect to the hub and automatically begin tracking and collectingproduct usage data. The hub may transmit the unique identification andupdates to the server regarding the location of the device. At 710, whenthe device detects a vibration, the device may receive the signal fromthe vibration sensor, including the duration of the tilt, the number oftilts, and the unique device identification. This data may beencapsulated and stored in a packet. When the device connects to thehub, a handshake happens between the hub and each label. The handshakemay occur at a pre-determined interval or every time a vibration ismeasured. The packet may be encapsulated in the device identifier (UUIDor SSID) response that the hub uses to identify the devicecommunication. This may be performed in the initial handshake itself tosave power. At 712, the original user, e.g., the manufacturer ordistributor, may be notified via the application that the number ofsheets in the collection has achieved the threshold amount. At 714, theend user, e.g., a retailer or consumer, may input the minimum number ofsheets to be stored locally via the application. The end user mayreceive a notification when the number of sheets stored locally achievesthis minimum number. The end user may program the device toautomatically reorder or require user approval to reorder, At 716, theprocess described above 702-714, may be repeated and the device mayautomatically update the server with the new number of containers thatwere reordered.

The method of configuring and using the inventory management system maycomprise calibrating a plurality of inventory management devices basedon the calibration of a single inventory management device that is basedon the sheet material, the thickness of sheet collection, etc. Thedevice may be configured to automatically calibrate based on prior usageand/or stored data. For example, the device may comprise software toautomatically calibrate the device based on, at least in part, priorusage data stored in the storage unit. The device may be configured tonot measure or include in the calibration the change in capacitanceduring consumption of the material by the user from container.

After receiving the labels, the distillery may communicate with thelabels via a hub to activate each label using an electrical switch,e.g., a reed switch, which connects the battery to the circuit toactivate the label. The user may open the mobile application to connectto the server including the databases. The user may input the startingand ending label identifications as well as the product identificationinto the reference database. The server may transmit a calibrationsignal that is received by each of the labels. The calibration signalmay include the threshold resistance value. The deployment database maybe updated automatically with the product identification from thereference database. The product identification may be associated withthe distillery identification.

The inventory management system may be characterized by one or more ofthe following: small size, flexibility, reusability and nonintrusivemonitoring of the quantity of sheets in the collection. The small sizeand flexible inventory management system as described herein maycomprise an electronic sticker on a flexible printed circuit board (PCB)or printed electronics. The reusable inventory management system asdescribed herein may comprise the electronic sticker removably attachedto a container. The inventory management system may be attached to acontainer of any shape and size. The nonintrusive inventory managementsystem as described herein may be safely used for food materials andmedicines by surmounting the inventory management device to an exteriorsurface of the container. For example, the electronic sticker may beremoved from a first container and attached to a second container. Theinventory management system may be used to manage the inventory for awide variety of substances. The inventory management system may be usedto monitor the number of sheets. The inventory management system may beconfigured to allow users to customize the ROP by positioning theinventory management device at the desired minimum sheets. The inventorymanagement system may be automated when the sheet collection isconfigured onto the network.

The inventory management system may comprise an in-house power savingcircuit such that the inventory management device lacks the need forfrequent recharging. The inventory management system may be configuredfor a two-step inventory management process to list sheets that need tobe refilled from a local supply and reordered or purchased.

EXAMPLES

The inventory management devices and methods of use described herein maybe better understood when read in conjunction with the followingrepresentative examples. In this example, a hotel may place an order for1000 toilet rolls to be used. The following examples are included forpurposes of illustration and not limitation.

Example 1

Initial Setup of the Label

As shown in FIG. 8, a capacitive sensor 802 may be positioned on thetoilet roll stand 804. The reference database may be updated to includea specific threshold capacitance value for the toilet roll. Thereference database may include the threshold capacitance value, name ofthe product, first capacitance value (capacitance of the roll when ithas sheets) and second capacitance value (capacitance when the roll doesnot have sheets). The capacitance value may be converted into time ofreturn pulse or program ticks. The deployment database may be updated aswell. A resistive sensor 804 may be positioned on the toilet roll. Thereference database may be updated to include the threshold resistancevalue, first resistance value (when the roll has sheets) and secondresistance value (when the roll has lesser sheets then a thresholdvalue). The deployment database may include a label identification,product identification, and reseller identification, e.g., the name ofthe seller selling the sheets. The label identification may include aUPC code. The label identification and sheet supplier identification maybe updated before shipping the labels.

Example 2

Calibration of the Label by the User

After receiving the labels, the sheet supplier may communicate with thelabels via a hub to activate each label using an electrical switch,e.g., a reed switch, which connects the battery to the circuit toactivate the label. The user may open the mobile application to connectto the server including the databases. The user may input the startingand ending label identifications as well as the product identificationinto the reference database. The server may transmit a calibrationsignal that is received by each of the labels. The calibration signalmay include the threshold capacitance value and resistance value. Thedeployment database may be updated automatically with the productidentification from the reference database. The product identificationmay be associated with the distillery identification. The user may inputthe quantity of sheets in each roll.

Example 3

Transporting the Toilet Rolls to the End User

As described in the above examples, the labels may be activated by theuser such that the labels are powered on but in a sleep state duringtransit to the bar. The power consumption may be reduced using one ormore intelligent power saving strategies. For example, the label'scontroller may determine the period of time that the bottle is tilted.If this period of time is greater than a threshold value, e.g., 2minutes, then the label may return to the sleep state. If this period oftime is less than the threshold value, then the controller may transmita signal to connect the label to a hub, and if the label cannot connectto the hub, the label may return to the sleep state.

Example 4

Use of the Inventory Management System by the End User

The hub at the bar may be configured to provide the network before thetoilet roll arrives at the hotel. The hub may transmit updated databaseinformation, including the location of the hotel, from the server to thelabels. As described above in Example 3, the labels may automaticallyconnect to the network after the roll is vibrated. The end user may, butis not required to, connect the labels to the network. The end user mayinput the threshold number of sheets to trigger transmitting a reordersignal to the sheet supplier to reorder the product. When this thresholdnumber is achieved, the end user may be notified by the server that theautomatic reorder was placed with the sheet supplier by the system.Alternatively, the end user may be notified that the threshold numberhas been achieved so that the end user may place the reorder manually.The server may provide the sheet supplier a map view showing the numberof bottles remaining at each location.

Example 5

Collecting Data

When the label is connected to the network via the hub, the label maymeasure and/or transmit device identifier information (“UUID” or“SSID”), including the label identification, status (e.g., the number ofsheets in the roll), number of vibrations. At a predetermined time, suchas each hour, the hub may transmit a signal to wake up each labelcausing each label to transmit the UUID. The hub may store the UUID. Thehub may transmit the UUID to the server. The server may store the UUID.When the number of sheets achieves the threshold amount, a status of 0is received by the hub at the bar and a notification is sent to thesheet supplier and updates the database.

Example 6

Deactivating the Label

The label may transmit a signal to be received by the database to causethe label to be deactivated in the database. For example, the signalsent to the sheet supplier to provide notice of the reorder may alsodeactivate the label in the database. Any information collected and/ortransmitted by a deactivated label may be would be considered invalid.This may reduce the likelihood of the roll from being reused by the enduser. The end user may remove the deactivated label from the bottle.After a reorder has been received by the sheet supplier, the user maybegin again at Example 1 to reconfigure a new set of labels on the rollto be delivered to this hotel. When the new set of rolls is received bythe hotel, the each new label may automatically connect to the networkas described above.

While particular embodiments of inventory management devices have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Those skilled inthe art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more thanroutine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific devices,systems, and methods described herein, including alternatives, variants,additions, deletions, modifications and substitutions. This applicationincluding the appended claims is therefore intended to cover all suchchanges and modifications that are within the scope of this application.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An inventory management device to measureusage of number of sheets in a roll, the inventory management devicecomprising: a resistive sensor in physical communication with a sheet inthe roll to measure a resistance value between the resistive sensor andthe sheet; a vibration sensor in electronic communication with theresistive sensor to generate a vibration signal that corresponds tovibration of the roll; a storage unit in electronic communication withthe resistive sensor to store the resistance value; a controller inelectronic communication with the resistive sensor and storage unit tomeasure a change in the resistance value; a transmitter in electroniccommunication with the controller to autonomously transmit an outputsignal when the controller measures the change in the resistance valueto trigger a supply of sheets to automatically replenish the roll whenthe number of sheets is equal to or less than a threshold value; and aflexible battery to power the resistive sensor, vibration sensor,storage unit, controller, and transmitter.
 2. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the resistive sensor measures a first resistance valuewhen number of sheets in the roll is above the threshold value.
 3. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the resistive sensor measures a secondresistive value when the number of sheets in the roll is less than orequal to a threshold number of sheets in the roll.
 4. The device ofclaim 3, wherein, when the controller receives the vibration signal, theresistive sensor measures the second resistive value and the transmitterautonomously transmits the output signal.
 5. The device of claim 3,wherein the change in resistance indicates that the number of sheets inthe roll is less than or equal to a threshold number of sheets in theroll.
 6. The device of claim 3, wherein when the controller receives thevibration signal, the resistance sensor measures the second resistancevalue, and the transmitter autonomously transmits the output signal whenthe controller measures a change in the resistance between the firstresistance value and second resistance value.
 7. The device of claim 3,wherein the controller is programmed to collect inventory informationcomprising an image sensor, moisture information, temperatureinformation, humidity information, air quality information, lightinformation, motion information, audio information, magneticinformation, and combinations thereof.
 8. The device of claim 3, whereinthe first resistance value indicates a characteristic related to thematerial in the container including at least one of the material'scomposition and manufacturer.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein thetransmitter comprises a radio transmitter including one of a LoRatransmitter and a NB-IoT transmitter.
 10. The device of claim 1comprising an environmental sensor to measure environmental data,wherein the environmental sensor is in electronic communication with thestorage unit to store the environmental data, the controller, and thebattery.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the environmental datacomprises one or more of an image, moisture, temperature, humidity, airquality, light, motion, sound, and magnetism.
 12. A system to maintainan inventory of a material, the system comprising: at least a rollcomprising a plurality of sheets; the inventory management device ofclaim 1 removably coupled to an exterior surface of the roll; a serverin electronic communication with the inventory management device toreceive the output signal and automatically communicate the outputsignal to at least one of a user and a vendor to effect automaticordering of the material when the amount of material in the container isequal to or less than the threshold amount, and wherein a change inresistance between the first resistance value and the second resistancevalue indicates the amount of material in the container is less than orequal to a threshold number of sheets in the roll.
 13. A method ofdetecting a number of sheets in a roll having the inventory managementdevice of claim 1 removably coupled to an exterior surface of the roll,the method comprising: determining the number of sheets in the roll;detecting at least one vibration of the roll when a sheet is removedfrom the roll; measuring a change in the resistance between a firstresistance value and a second resistance value; determining the amountof sheets in the roll is equal to or less than a second number of sheetsin the roll based on the change in the resistance; and autonomouslycollecting inventory information; and automatically communicating theinventory information to effect automatic ordering of the roll when thenumber of sheets in the roll is equal to or less than the thresholdamount.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein automatically communicatingthe inventory information comprises autonomously transmitting theinventory information to a vendor.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinautonomously transmitting the inventory information to the vendorcomprises transmitting the inventory information via a radio transmitterincluding one of a LoRa transmitter and a NB-IoT transmitter.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, wherein autonomously transmitting the inventoryinformation to the vendor comprises transmitting the inventoryinformation upon the expiration of a predetermined time period.
 17. Themethod of claim 14 comprising deactivating the inventory managementdevice upon transmission of the inventory information to the vendor. 18.The method of claim 13 comprising calibrating the inventory managementdevice based on one of the material's capacitance data, and inventoryinformation.
 19. The method of claim 13 comprising activating theinventory management device from a sleep state to an active state whenthe controller receives the vibration signal greater than a thresholdvalue.
 20. A roll comprising a plurality of sheets and the inventorymanagement device of claim 1 positioned at a reorder point within theplurality of sheets; and wherein the output signal triggers a sheetcontainer comprising the supply of sheets to automatically replenish thesheets when the number of sheets is equal to or less than the thresholdamount.